Pedal Wheelchair - A New Type of Wheelchair

Manual or mechanical wheelchairs are durable medical equipment (or home medical equipment), most of them are controlled to move forward and backward and turn using the arms to rotate the wheels. Electric wheelchairs driven by motors are also popular. However, both of these wheelchairs are not driven by the feet and cause the feet of the elderly or the foot impaired due to injury or illness to be even weaker than ever.
Recently, pedal-style wheelchairs (some people call it leg-propelled wheelchairs) are developed and showing excellent effects on rehabilitation of the foot impaired after using the pedal-style wheelchairs.
So, what is pedal-style wheelchair?
A pedal-style wheelchair has two relatively large wheels linked to the pedals with a mechanical chain to propel them, and a directional wheel controlled by a steering system. These three-wheel pedal-style wheelchairs are easily controlled to have small turns, like whirling in a spot, to move and to turn safely. Thus, the wheelchairs are capable of turning in elevators or other limited spaces in the daily life.
For people suffering from paralysis on one side, not only the healthy lower limb can step, but also the hemiplegic lower limb can step together with the healthy lower limb. The pedal-style wheelchair can move as fast as an adult walks in a long distance and can be used by people suffering from one-side paralysis with slight to extremely severe mobility issues if their joints are not obviously uncomfortable or have pain.
It is unavoidable for people with severe hemiplegia sitting in the wheelchair for long period, non-use of the affected leg can increase the risk of secondary impairments. For people with walking difficulties or disability, using the pedal-style wheelchairs may activate paretic muscle through self-locomotion with bilateral pedaling and improve the weakened strength and palsy of the legs.
A study reports that driving the pedal wheelchairs elicited augmentation of paralytic muscle activity in people with severe hemiplegia or with severe impairment in lower extremities (e.g., due to stroke, spinal injury, Parkinson's disease, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, obstructive atherosclerosis, diabetes), and providing an alternative of physical exercise for them.
The pedal wheelchairs may be used not only as the devices of practical locomotion but also as therapeutic exercise for the non-ambulatory hemiplegic people. Use a pedal wheelchair daily may contribute to restore paretic leg function.
It is also reported that most of the non-ambulatory elderly become psychologically active by self-locomotion with pedal wheelchair driving.
Although the long-term effects of driving pedal wheelchairs are unknown especially in the aspects of functional and physiological change, and have not been able to explain the details in medical science, this can be predictable. According to a research, this is caused by the response actually appears in the central pattern generator CPG within the spinal cord (neuromodulation), and now further scientific studies are being done.
Neuromodulation is a new medical technology that does not rely on any surgery and medication. It makes sufficient use of the body in the process of rehabilitation.